My Own Rapture : Redux
by The Tears of a Madman
Summary: A mind is a wonderful thing to waste.
1. Boom

My Own Rapture

By The Tears of a Madman

Chapter One

-+-+-+-+-+

They gave me more drugs today...

They gave them to me to block my sense of being, so I can't think straight...so I can't get away. God, I don't even remember what I did to get into this...why did they put me in here? I thought they were my friends...but they turned on me, like everyone else did. The men in white came in to hold down Stan today. He had a temper tantrum again, and threw the checker board at the TV...Everyone got mad, it was almost another riot, just like last week. Oh well, the drugs seem to be kicking in...good night...

. . .ugh. . .

. . .sigh. . .

-+-+-+-+-+

"Sonic, look out!"

He dashed to the right quickly, barely dodging the photon particle beam. The spot where the hedgehog once stood was now nothing but a black, smoldering hole. Heavy amounts of smoke pooled from it, having completely disintegrated anything that may have once been there. That may have been our hero, had Tails not screamed from his entrapment.

Sonic skidded to a stop, couched down, hand on the ground, panting slightly. He looked forward and up as a bit of sweat dripped down his face. A slight distance from him stood a massive metal beast, made of nothing but hatred and fucking pain. It towered as a symbol of destruction, its shadow covering him, his two tailed friend, and most of Tails runway. Most of this was because of the angle of the sun, not sheer height. Sonic couldn't take Tails and escape even if he wanted too, their backs were to the sea and the only way out was through...that. The hatch atop it opened with a sickening hiss, sliding back to reveal the pilot. He stood up, bruised and battered, yet still somehow proud.

"You...foolish being...time and time again you manage to escape my grasp...but no more..."

Robotnik always wore a ridiculous grin, but today it seemed to be different. Not more cunning, not more sinister, but...different.

Close to Sonic was Tails, trapped, tied up, caged, and completely unable to move. He was bound with his feet to the bottom of the steel cage and he hands at the top. His tails were tired together and then taped to his body. Robotnik had somehow captured Tails and had used him as bait to draw our blue hero into battle. It wasn't difficult, Robotnik had attacked and trapped Tails as he was talking on the phone to Sonic...

"I built this machine for you, hedgehog," He continued, "just for you...today I'll end this, one way or another."

Sonic scoffed. 'Buttnik building machines simply to destroy him was nothing new, why bother mentioning it? "Old news, butthead." Sonic managed through pants, "Same old news, over and over again. Why can't you ever come up with anything new?"

Robotniks grin and stare remained unchanged by Sonics mock-taunt. No response, either. Very strange for Eggman. He usually has some retarded come-back or some run-on sentence about how smart he is and how stupid the rest of us are. Whats even stranger is this sudden attack. Once again, Robotnik attacking was nothing new, but Sonic had recently laid complete and total waste to Robotniks main lair. How he managed to build a new 'bot, hell, how he even managed to live was beyond Sonic. He made sure he ended Robotniks reign of terror once and for all, or at least so he though. He had placed bombs through-out Eggmans complex with the help of GUN and various other do gooders in one last strike against the man who continued to tarnish this planet. The explosion was seen from miles around, and had taken out a good chunk of forest with it. Robotnik obviously hadn't cleaned up much since then, but how..

"Ying and yang." Huh? "You and I, hedgehog...we are ying and yang. Everyone and everything needs an opposite force to define their own existence...yet you still insist and ridding the planet of me..." Its very un-like Robotnik to talk like this. Hes not one for deep philosophy or anything of the sort.

"Understandably, I am the yang. The black. The evil. Your sole purpose is to stop me, but its also mine to stop you. The yang destroys, the ying creates." Robotnik suddenly twitches his stubby little neck to the side and pops it. "But we differ other then that, hedgehog...we differ greatly...for I plan to end this cycle." This was bizzare. Way bizzare. Did Eggman hit his head on something during his escape or what? It made no sense...

Before Sonic could finish his thought, Robotnik had retreated back into his mechanical monster. As the seal of the cockpit hissed shut, the advanced, souped up Egg Walker was brought back to life. Within moments it sprang forward, charging like all four horsemen ready to bring the entire apocalypse down on this one mammals head. Sonic jumped to his feet, a furrow in his brow, ready to destroy any fucking horseman that may cross him. Right as it began the charge, a loud hiss sounded from the mech. Two large hatches opened from its rounded underside, exposing large, red, metal containers built within it. Sonic and Tails both caught a glimpse of what was labeled on those containers just as loud sirens began sounding off from the machine.

C3H5(NO3)3

Tails eyes widened. "Thats N-N-Nitroglycerin!!"

Oh fuck.

Bombs.

Nasty ones.

Wait a minute...that means...this is a suicide run! What?!

"If the gods are truly against me, you and your little friend will live through this! If thats the case, just know you were the best foes any villain could ever ask for! I shall see you on the other side, hedgehog! Adieu, for the last time!" Robotniks maniacal laughter echoed endlessly through the external speakers built onto the mech. The kamikaze charge continued, the mech slamming its metal feet down, heavily damaging the runway, smacking it the like back hand of an angered god. The laughter continued as he drew closer.

Sonics brain finally took in all what was happening and quickly sprang to action. Regardless of the urge in his head RUN THE FUCK AWAY, he knew he had to free Tails. Now. He grabbed the bars that held his friend, tugging, pulling, but all in vain. He spun his head back to the mech as it got closer.

"SONIC!!" Tails screamed, panic obvious in his voice and eyes. "OH GOD SONIC GET ME OUT OF HERE!!" He obviously knew what happening, even if he didn't understand it either. Taking a step back, Sonic went into a spin, and with everything in his body and will, slammed into the bars, slicing into them. The bars resisted the impact and bounced him back, nearly off the edge of the runway. With nothing on his mind but freeing his life-long friend, Sonic went into another spin and slammed into the bars again, this time only managing to badly damage his quills. He bounced off, a bit of blood flying from his back as he sped back up to the bars and grabbed them, attempting to pull them apart with everything he had. "UUUUUUGG-AAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" He screamed, he grunted, he fucking tried, but to no use, they would not budge. He stopped for a moment and looked up into Tails eyes. Both pairs instantly read the exact same thing.

Hopelessness.

By the time Sonic looked back to the approaching mech, it was too late.

Boom.

-+-+-+-+-+

End of Chapter 1

And thus, the re-write begins.


	2. Reset

My Own Rapture

By The Tears of a Madman

Chapter 2

-+-+-+-+-+

It had been two days. Two long, complex, painful, utterly useless days. Sonic had been found by the local police, who were sent out because of the explosion that took out Tails home and the railway near by, after he was washed ashore by the tide. It was a fucking miracle he wasn't dragged out to sea or something. He was badly wounded when they found him. Burnt, cut, bruised, battered, torn, ripped, broken. When he arrived in the ER he was in critical condition and things didn't look good. For those two days he was almost always in surgery. They had to work on his organs, his bones, his flesh, his face, his cock, his pinky toe, his entire being. Everything had something wrong with it and everything needed to be fixed. Price was no object of course. When you're a hero, insurance companies coming begging at your feet with low prices and the best of everything just so you'll be a part of them. The cost they spend on any injuries was well worth the fact they had such a well known and well loved hero under their plan. They made a point to mention it in every advertisement they ever put out. The best of the best for the best of heroes...but this time they had to pay heavy. This kind of surgery wasn't cheap, and it took all kinds of expensive equipment and expensive doctors and expensive bedpans and expensive air and expensive holy fuck he looks like shit just to put humpty-dumpty together again. And to make him beautiful too, of course. No one likes an ugly hero.

He was out of surgery, finally. It took all the kings horses and all the kings men but he was out of surgery and was expected to fully recover. He was completely covered in cast and wrappings, like something you'd see out of a comedy or over-exaggerated drama or something. His legs and arms propped up, a straw leading into his throat and tubing leading from his neither regions. Inside his shell he was completely covered and completely cut off from anything. It didn't matter, of course. He was out. Like a light. Had been for the last few days and probably would be for the next few weeks. There was no risk of death, his heart was ah' pumpin' and his brain activity was high according to the various sensors and monitors he was hooked up too. This, however, didn't stop him from dreaming. Even with all the drugs and strong painkillers pumped into his bloodstream, he continued to dream. And oh what dreams he had.

-+-+-+-+-+

"You know, most people would be dead by now." Three weeks had passed. "Even for being a hero known for getting out of tight spots, I'm quite impressed." Sonic had been unconscious for the entire time. "I mean, we don't see this kind of thing regularly, you understand. Alot of the doctors didn't know what to do or where to start." He was expected to wake up any day now. "We had to call in a few from near by cities and even a couple from accrossed the state. Very expensive." While his physical being was going to be fine, no one really knew what to expect when the cast came off. "Luckily we had enough talent on board to keep him stable and work on most of him before all the imports came in." Everyone was just happy for him to still be alive.

"I see...but, when do you think he can be released?"

Knuckles wasn't one for Hospitals. They gave him the heeby-jeebies. He wasn't even sure why exactly. Luckily he was in an office and not some place where he might get creeped out. It wasn't the people, really, just the feeling of how many people had died there. Knux was never one for dealing with death well. Luckily he wouldn't have to, at least for today.

The doctor looked over a few files at his desk. He picked up a clipboard and sorted through a few of the papers on it. "Hmmm...I'm not sure exactly." He put down the clipboard. The name tag on his lab coat read "Dr. Epi". A strange name, but it wasn't like Knuckles was one to talk. "It all depends on how everything goes when we remove the cast. Things should be pretty good, though. Theres no reason for them not to be."

"I see..." He shifted in his seat a bit. Uncomfortable. It wasn't the chair, it was a godsend compared to the stone steps he was so used to. It was the Hospital again. "When is it going to be removed? Up until now I've just been getting the run-around, so I'm fuzzy on the details."

"Tomorrow." The doctor glanced at his papers again, his hands now folded and resting on the desk. "Its set for tomorrow. If you have some way for me to reach you I can let you know when exactly. A phone number? Email?"

Phones and computers weren't very popular on Angel Island. You know, with the not having power and all. "No...I'll just come by in the morning." He stood up and leaned over the desk to shake the doctors hand. "Thanks for the help."

The doctor shook the large gloved, nodding slightly. "No problem. Sonic making it through was enough of a reward for us." Well, that, and huge ass fucking paychecks all the doctors were getting.

Knuckles nodded, gave his farewell, and walked out the door.

-+-+-+-+-+

"You know, most people would have given up by now." Three weeks had passed. "Even for a hero like him, a search of this size for this long doesn't happen often." Tails had been missing for the entire time. "I mean, we're trying our best, obviously, but there's nothing. Not a trace. We searched all over the Mystic Ruins but after that no one really knew where to look." They expected to find him any day now. "We had to call in units from near by cities and a few from a crossed the state. It took a bit of time for them to get here, too." While all hopes were high, no one knew what to expect when they finally found him. "Luckily we're big enough and talented enough to do a deep search ourselves, but the extra help would have been real nice earlier on." Everyone just hoped he was still alive.

"I see...but, what do you think his chances are after all thing time?"

Knuckles wasn't one for Police Stations. Too much hustle and bustle. Way more traffic then he's used too. It wasn't the cops that bothered him, obviously, but all the crooks and criminals and scumbags that went in and out of there. All of them knew who he was and most of them wanted him dead. Not a welcome feeling. Luckily, Knux wouldn't have to deal with any of that shit, at least for today.

The officer looked over a few files at his desk. He picked up a burger and picked a few onions out of it. "Well...honestly, it doesn't look good." He took a bite of the burger, but was kind enough to swallow and put it down before speaking again. The badge on his uniform read "Officer Horot". A strange name, but it wasn't like Knuckles was one to talk. "It all depends on where, exactly, he went. Its possible, and likely, that he fell into the ocean. However, we have to keep our spirits high. Theres no reason for them not to be."

"I see..." He fidget in his seat a bit. Uncomfortable. The chair was hard and made him miss the stone steps he was so used to. But more so then that, it was the Station again. "When do you think the search is going to be called off? I mean...I don't want it to be. In the least. But you sound like it would usually be over by now. I'm not used to this kind of thing so I'm fuzzy on the details."

"Tomorrow." The cop glanced at his papers again, a slight frown appearing. "Its set for tomorrow. It looks like we're just out of resources and options at this point. If you'd like to file against it, I could give you a phone number and email for some of the higher-ups."

Phones and computers weren't Knuckles thing. You know, with the urge to rather punch people then talk to them about something stupid that shouldn't be ending...and all. "No...I'll just come by in the morning and talk to them face to face." He sat and leaned over the piles of junk and papers cluttering the cops desk to shake his hand. "Thanks for all you guys have done..."

The official wiped his hand on his pant and shook the gloved hand. "No problem, I just wish there was more we could do.." Well, there is, you KEEP SEARCHING FOR MY FRIEND YOU WORTHLESS FUCK.

Knuckles nodded, gave his farewell and walked out the door.

-+-+-+-+-+

"I liked it better when all we had to do was jump on robots heads."

Knuckles stared through the one-way glass. There he was, raw, bruised, and still slightly bandaged. Even with the noise and movement involved with removing the cast, Sonic remained asleep. The doctors told everyone there was nothing to worry about, such things were perfectly natural. Well, whatever.

Knuckles wondered why a hospital would have one-way glass. This wasn't a witness booth, you weren't identifying criminals. It was a hospital room. Knuckles shrugged, it didn't make any sense to him, but what did he know. He lived on a floating piece of rock.

"Things were less complicated when all that mattered was the high score..."

He looked over his friend again. Well, at least he was getting some nice, peaceful sleep...

-+-+-+-+-+

"-ad to do was jump on robots heads."

Its so hazy here. I can't see a thing...

"-hy wouldn't you take me? Huh? I won't get get in the wa-"

I hear things every now and there. Not all of them make sense, but a few of them do.

"-ouldn't matter. This shit never ends. He'll just come back for more. He never learns his less-"

Some of these things I can vaguely recall from my past. But a few of them are new.

"It'd be better if I ended it myself."

Whats that?

CCHSSSHHHHHHHSSHHHHHHHHHCCHHHH

Not all of them make sense.

"-ic! That was a close one! Good thing you helped me befor-"

Yeah...

"Humanity throws itself away."

Like how people say "x-mas" instead of "Christmas"?

"Turned its back."

On balance...

"Ying and Yang."

Whats the point in living if all you're going to do is die?

"OH GOD SONIC, PLE-"

I've been thinking about that alot lately.

"Keep it up, Sonic!"

Its all I can do in this darkness.

"-my, I told you to stay out of th-"

Why does man war?

"No sense of balance."

Does life not value itself? Why is it so expendable?

"No one fears death. Theres nothing for them to be afraid of."

It upsets

"the balance"

of things.

"Ying and Yang."

What does it mean?

"AAHHHHHHHHHH!!"

Fire.

"AAAHHHHHHHHHH!!"

Man wars to free itself.

"I liked it better when"

all I had to do was protect people.

"No more."

I'll end it myself.

"Ying and Yang."

Balance?

"Please press reset."

Of course.

". . . sigh. . ."

It had to end sooner or later.

"Sonic! The next Emerald is right up ahead!"

You know, I watched him burn. In the air. He was on fire...and surrounded by broken, twisted metal.

"I really wish Amy would stop coming on to me."

I remember being very wet.

"OH GOD, FUCK ME, YESS, MMM-"

This is so filthy. Is this what mankind has become? Fuck and shit and kill?

"Its natural."

Its disgusting.

"Lack of balance."

WATCH AS THESE TEENS FINGER THEMSELVES RAW

"Game over."

Please insert another coin.

"Game over."

Why was I protecting these people? All they do is ruin the planet and each other.

"Game over."

One exist only to kill another. Why?

"Game over."

They have nothing to fear. No opposing force.

"Game over."

What if they had something to fear?

"Game over."

Looks like the machines broken. Looks like I'm gonna have to fix it.

"Please press reset."

Ok then.

"Ying and Y-"

Click.

-+-+-+-+-+

Sonic opened his eyes. The nurse standing next to him, who had just finished with his bedpan, noticed this. She smiled sweetly. "Oh, you're awake...how are you feeling?" She spoke softly, her soft smile remained while she spoke.

Sonic looked directly right of his head. There was a small metal table there with various medial tools.

"Is there something I can get you, Mr. Hedgehog?"

Sonic reached over to the table and grabbed a scalpel. Before the nurse could do anything, Sonic drove it into the side of her neck.

-+-+-+-+-+

End of Chapter 2

You know, in the first draft of this chapter I wrote a page long rant. It took up too much space so its gone now, but in summery:

Fuck you.

And I broke my promise. I used a spellchecker.


	3. Better and Better

My Own Rapture

Chapter 3

By The Tears of a Madman

-+-+-+-+-+

Not all of it makes sense.

I was asleep before. Yet...I've never been so awake. My eyes were never so open before. I can't believe I'd never seen these things until now.

But why? Why now? Is it because I saw everything I loved crumble before my eyes? Because I witnessed my best friends life taken? Because of a hit to the head? Because of brain damage?

No...this has to be more...but I can't put my finger on it...

Help?

-+-+-+-+-+

"He's been that way since we put him in there." The doctor took a few notes as he looked through the window on the door. "He hasn't moved."

It was about three days ago since Sonic put that knife in that nurses neck. Her scream was so loud that Knuckles and Dr. Epi heard it two floors down. By the time they reached the room, it was already full of people. Most of them were there to hold Sonic down. His kicking and screaming were intense, not just in noise and power, but in the fact he hadn't moved for so long, yet he was still full of energy. Guess you can't keep a good 'Hog down, that is until you pump him full of sedatives and have 5 people on top of him. Even with all the shit they pumped into his IV, he was still moving and yelling by the time the cops got there. There was no way they'd put such a hero in jail of course, so for now he was stuck in here. Gospel Sanitarium. The highest class nut-house within 500 miles of anywhere and nowhere. It was a swell place, really. Clean, white, professional. And Sonic, of course, got the best room in the house. Well, kinda.

"I don't understand what the hell happened to him..." Knuckles was leaned up against the wall, looking away from the doctor and the window. "This...isn't right."

"Mental illness usually isn't." The doctor continued jotting shit down for no apparent reason. What the hell was so important that he needed to keep tabs on it? Sonic was sitting upright in a corner. Had been for awhile. Wooptie friggin' do.

"I understand that, but...why? Why this?" Knuckles didn't move. "This is...crazy." Both of them were fully aware of the bad pun, but neither decided to acknowledge it. "Such violence...even under such stress...I just don't understand."

"No one will until Sonic decides to talk...if he does." Still writing. "He may stay quiet for some time. I've seen this kind of thing before...it could really go either way."

Knuckles closed his eyes rubbed his temples. He wasn't used to this kind of shit. Killer robots were one thing, killer best friends were a whole different ball game. He glanced over to the doctors name tag. Dr. Osbourne. A strange name, but it wasn't like...well, you know. "...Well, I have some other business to get too. Give me a call when something comes up." This time, Knuckles did have a phone. Amy's. He needed to stay around for this...plus, Amy wasn't in the best shape either. No one was, especially not today. Today...was Tails funeral.

"Mmmhmm." In usual asshole fashion, he didn't look up from his note pad. Fuck you too. Knuckles didn't bother to say goodbye when he left.

-+-+-+-+-+

"Today, we mourn a great loss..."

Things just kept getting better and better. The entire church was packed. Everyone from close friends to fans to the press packed these holy walls. This, obviously, was Tails funeral ceremony. An entire nation watched as the passing of one of the worlds biggest heroes was made official. Thankfully, the press decided not to make a big fuss and only used a small handful of cameras to cover the event. Any extra stress was not welcome.

Knuckles was seated right between Amy and Espio. Espio has his usual straight face, on the outside completely unaffected...but it was an obvious rouse. A look in his eyes told you exactly what you needed to know. He was as completely devastated by this as any one else was. Still, he tried to keep up his image...even in a place like this.

Amy, on the other hand, wasn't nearly as covert about her feelings. She was bawling her eyes out, easily the loudest among a horde of weeping followers. She'd been crying on the way here, and had been for at least two days...ever since it was made "official". She knew it was true before, but even til the end she held on to her hope...until there was nothing left to hold on to.

Knuckles just stared at the ground as he listened to the priest go on about the tremendous loss. Words were words, and none of them really mattered to Knux...he knew all he needed to know, he didn't need a man of the cloth to tell him about how wonderful one of his best friends were.

For a moment, he heard the weeping of the church dull down...as he looked to his side, he found out why: Amy had stopped and was looking to him. Her lip trembling, her make-up completely ruined and snot running down her face. "K-Knux..." She barely got words out. It seemed she was going to burst into tears once again at any moment...of course she was. It was to be expected. "I-I just wish...t-that Sonic c-could have made it..." It was true...it was absolutely horrible that Tails own best friend couldn't be here to see him buried...well, not exactly. No one was getting buried. They had all gathered around an empty casket...Tails body was never found. But that was neither here nor there.

Knuckles wrapped an arm around Amy. "I know...I know." He had nothing else to say, really. He couldn't get into details...See, Amy didn't know exactly what had happened. All she knew is that Sonic was still "sick", and that was about it...and now was definitely not the time to get into how sick Sonic really was.

"And now my friends, we lay this poor soul to rest...may you rest in peace forever, Miles Prower, and know for all eternity that you have done this world more good then most beings...we may only pray to see you again in the kingdom of heaven, where we know you will forever be at peace."

As the holy man closed his bible, Amy again exploded into tears.

"Amen."

The day just keeps getting better and better.

-+-+-+-+-+

I STILL CANT FIGURE IT OUT

WHY IM HERE AND WHY IM HERE

WHAT AM I DOING

WHATS GOING ON

WHAT IS THIS PLACE

"Its a place for you to collect your thoughts."

MY THOUGHTS CANNOT BE COLLECTED THEY ARE TOO SCATTERED

"Nonsense. All you need is to see your reason."

I CANT FIGURE THAT OUT

"Maybe you should move. Walk. Look. You will see all you need."

THERE IS NOTHING TO SEE ALL THERE IS IS WHITE AND MORE WHITE

"If only the world were that simple. If everything was truly white, we wouldn't be having any troubles. It's those little red splatters we need to worry about and clean up."

YOURE NOT MAKING ANY SENSE

"Maybe you should look for yourself."

MAYBE

"Maybe."

OK SO I WILL

"Like a new born"

TAKING HIS FIRST STEPS

"into a world that will only push him down."

DON'T INTERUPPTEOGVBBVJ MWEEEE

"You're losing focus. Stand. Walk forward. Its all you ever need to do."

-+-+-+-+-+

"Well, another day, another dollar." The doctor dropped his pen into the front pocket of his lab coat as he finished up checking on the last inmate. "Time to get out of this horrid place..."

He walked down the hall a bit as the lights went off around him. Apparently it was 1a.m., the automatic light system was kicking off for the night. A few dim lights remained on here-and-there to serve as night lights, so it wasn't too dark really...however it was dark enough. He was in an insane asylum after all.

"Ohhh doctor..." He stopped as he heard the soothing voice from behind him. He didn't bother to turn around, but he did grin. He knew exactly who it was...the arms that wrapped around him from behind him only enforced his wicked smile.

"Mmmm...Hello nurse..."

-+-+-+-+-+

WHAT AM I LOOKING AT

"Can you not see?"

THE WINDOW IS SMALL AND IT IS DARK

"Look closely. To the right."

TWO PEOPLE WHAT THE IT LOOKS LIKE THEYRE

"...Fucking?"

YEAH

"You'd be correct. Thats your doctor...Dr. Osbourne."

WHATS YOUR POINT THEYRE JUST FUCKING

"Dr. Osbourne is a married man. He had a ring on when he checked up on you last."

AND

"...and that young lady does not have one."

"This is the world today. The world you tried so hard to save. The world that killed your friend."

THATS NOT TRU

"YES IT IS!! THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT THE WORLD IS NOW!! Nothing but filth and disgust and cum and blood and SHIT! Filthy! Completely filthy!"

WHY ARE THEY SO FILTHY

"Its all they know. They emulate the world around them. Its what they've been taught. Its ok to fuck another girl as long as you're not caught."

ITS ONLY A COUPLE PEOPLE.

"Its everyone. The drug addicts on the street, the whores on the corner, the devout Christians molesting and raping young boys."

THAT IS TRUE...

"Its been this way for a long time. Everything around you is covered in shit. You were just to blinded before."

WHY AM I NO LONGER BLINDED

"Because...I have opened your eyes."

YOURE RIGHT THIS FILTH SO...THICK. SO...HORRIBLE. SO FULL OF SIN

."There you go...you're coming together."

YOU'RE RIGHT, I'VE JUST NEVER SEEN IT BEFORE...I MEAN, I'VE SEEN IT, BUT NOT SO...CLEARLY.

"It makes me sick."

IT DOES. MAYBE WE SHOULD Do SoME CLeaNiNG.

"You know, thats not a bad idea."

BuT THeReS So MuCH oF iT...HoW Can I deal with it all?

"Maybe...start fresh. Remove all the filth...all at once, before it can spread."

Like a disease.

"You know, our kind doctor made quite the mistake in his rush to get off and get out of here."

Whats that?

click

"The newborn has learned something new...rebellion. Now is the time to push back."

-+-+-+-+-+

"I'm glad you could make it."

The police officer looked over Knuxs with a grim and stern look as he walked up to the door. "I'm just on guard duty. The guys inside are gonna have lots of questions for you."

"Excuse me but, uh...I really have no idea whats going on. Can I get a clue here?"

"Inside."

Fat fucking lot of good you are, asshole. Knuckles walked by him without another word and entered the door. The moment he did however, he was smack dab in the middle of about 7 cops that all wanted his attention. Lots of questions were being thrown around and they were coming as such speed Knuckles couldn't really understand any of them. A few moments later however, another officer walked through the crowd and straight to Knuckles.

"We need you upstairs. Now."

With that, he turned and walked into the elevator. Knuckles blinked a few times and hastily made his way after him. He needed to know what was going on. Despite this, the elevator was completely silent aside from the annoying jingle that played. Knuckles finally decided to open his mouth to ask a question, but the moment he did, the door opened and the officer quickly made his way out. Knuckles stopped, sighed and rubbed his eyes a bit before making his way after the cop. He watched as he turned a corner down the hall. Knux did a light jog after him, already asking a question as he turned the corner. "Ok, seriously, what the fuck is goi-..."

He stopped dead in his tracks the moment he took the turn. All of a sudden, the reason he was here was pretty damn clear.

There was Dr. Osbourne, his pants down, his manhood completely missing, and nailed to the wall about two feet off the floor. It looked like he was...crucified. Each of his hands were in bedded with about 4 or 5 spikes of some kind , each apparently stuck to some bone or another as it kept him off the floor and stuck to the wall. His pants hung around his ankles, completely drenched in blood that had apparently come from his crotch...or at least what once was his crotch. Now there was nothing but a bloody, ripped hole.

But the doctor was not alone. Laying below him in a large puddle of blood was a nurse...or what was left of her. She was gashed and thrashed and covered in horribly deep cuts and stabs. A look at her face revealed her eyes were also missing, and the doctors bloody testicles were stuffed into her mouth...forever agape in an eternal scream, echoing through oblivion...only to be muffled by a nut sack.

Knuckles dropped to his knees at this sight. It was...so horrible. Never in any of his adventures had he ever seen anything like this before. Before he understood what was happening, he bent over and began to vomit. As he did so, the officer he was with calmly strolled over to a table and picked something up. He walked over to Knuckles and waited for him to finish.

Knuckles breathed deep, the vomiting had passed, but he was still taking in all that he had just seen...and it only got worse.

"Look at this." Knuckles lifted his head up to see what the officer had in his hand...it was one of those spikes that was buried in the doctors hands. "This is what was used to kill the nurse." The officer explained calmly.

He looked it over, taking in details slowly due to his current shocked state. The spike was long, slightly curved and extremely sharp...at least on one end. The other end was somewhat roundish, and seemed to have...meat bits attached to it?

Then Knuckles finally took in the most obvious aspect of this object. The one thing that turned this from a simple murder weapon to something even worse.

This wasn't a spike. It was a quill...and it was blue.

As Knuckles began to vomit again, the officer looked above where the kind doctor hung. He sighed as he looked over the glorious red text, smeared and still dripping...

"RAPTURE."

End of Chapter 3.


	4. Baby Steps

My Own Rapture

Chapter 4

By The Tears of a Madman

-+-+-+-+-+

"I'd have to say you did pretty well. Baby steps, of course, but still very well."

Was that really necessary? I mean, it was awful...messy...

"Of course it was necessary. You saw what was going on. There was no excuse for it."

No, I get that they weren't supposed to be doing that, but...killing them?

"What other choice did you have? Allow them to continue? If you were to simply stop them, not only would they have continued elsewhere, but you would have been locked back up. Come now, think. There was no other way. The way it was done was an...expression. To let others know of their sins so they may not repeat them."

I see...I guess...

"Don't worry, things will become even clearer as things go on. You've just broken free, both physically and mentally. Don't break down now, just when you're truly reforming."

Yes...you're right. People needed to see that. Had I not ended them, they would have hurt others...let it be the doctors wife finding out

"or the nurse spreading STDs like the whore she is"

or poor the employee that finds them and is fired for it. I've done a service to the world.

"So very like you, always thinking of others."

Yes...but I need to focus on me. What I'm supposed to do.

"I'm sure that will all come in time."

But...one more question. Why did you write that on the wall?

"I'm sure that will all come in time."

Huh?

"Baby steps, my friend. Baby steps. Let us just keep walking forward, there is always light at the end of the tunnel."

-+-+-+-+-+

The rain was thick and full, drenching any poor life form that was unfortunate enough to be caught in it. Waves of it slammed the sides of the buildings, creating a a roar of sound, deafening those scrambling to get to their cars. It swept the alleyways, mixing in with the tears of those sad souls who had no place else to go but the weak protection of a broken piece of wet cardboard.

It was raining, it was loud, it was wet, but it was strangely calming.

Tonight those poor souls in the alley had company. Sonic covered himself with the good doctors lab coat, the red stains acrossed its pure surface being washed away in the deep downpour, like the sins of the father being forgiven by the son. Or something. It didn't help much in the rain, however the spare wet cardboard he had lined it with has at least kept the direct rain off him.

The calming sound of the rainstorm gave him time to think. About what was, is, and will be. He was on the run now, and there was no turning back. It was strange of him to being hiding from the Police, he was usually one to embrace them. He had often been stopped by an Officer for nothing more then a nice chit-chat, talking the day away as the bight, warm sun shined down on the Square, his watchful eye keeping peace.

What was. What is, is that he was in hiding. He saw patrol cars drive by the alley, and he was sure they were searching for him. He had given them a bit of a slip though. Despite his speed and with what ease he could have gained distance, he choose to stay in the city. He was aware of how the inside of a Cops mind worked, and he was fairly sure they'd think he would simply run. Far far away. And thankfully thats where the vast majority of them were, because the patrol cars he had seen were but a mere fraction of what he knew they had. They were out looking for him...

What is...but what will be? Where does he go from there? He had a mission...what, he wasn't quite sure, but it was something important. Something important enough to kill for.

Baby steps, time will tell.

His eyes glanced a crossed the street, peering into a dinners window. There, he spotted various people about their business, mostly just chatting and enjoying their fine meal. He saw families coming together over omelets and bacon, friends chatting over coffee, couples eye-fucking each other over a sundae. His calm observation was quickly brought to a point of focus as a bit of a scuffle seemed to break out. An extremely large man, in the cliché stained wife-beater and jeans threw his empty plate a crossed the dinner, screaming at a waitress for some reason unbeknownst to Sonic. The waitress was attractive, and obviously scared shitless as the much larger male stood up, his stomach as wide as she was tall, screaming and waving his arms about. Someone from the back came out, his face a forced-calm, obviously trying to settle whatever was happening. He was met with a punch to the face.

The large man took his coat from the back of his chair and stormed out, not one to wait around for the Police.

Fuck, Police. This is going to attract the law, and thats not something Sonic wanted. So, it was time to choose a path to follow...

He sat up from his makeshift seat on a worn, old plastic bucket and began to walk after his new friend.

-+-+-+-+-+

"Fuckin' worthless service, Jesus."

The man closed the door to his apartment, flicking on the light right before flicking his Bic, lighting his bent cigarette. He hung his coat on the nearby hook, next to the friendly reminder installed by the owners of the apartment not to smoke or keep animals in the building. The white/brown sign was stained yellow from an obvious lack of care or cleaning, on behalf of either the owner or the management. The shape of the apartment was a constant reminder to the resident that those fuckin' worthless owners never bothered to come by and clean the place up, probably having abandoned it and keeping it only for the money. God forbid he clean it himself, wasn't his building.

He waded through the light piles of junk on the floor before crashing on his couch, letting out a sigh of smoke. He picked up the remote and turned on his over sized, under cleaned TV and flicking few a few channels before resting on an adult channel, the sight of teenagers fingering and licking each other catching his attention. He grinned a bit and carelessly dropped the remote on the floor, wasting no time slipping his hand over his belly and into his pants, resting it there with a few slight gropes. "Heh, at least something is fuckin' decent on today..."

"I don't think decency applies to you."

He heard the door shut and lock right after these words were spoken. He jumped up a bit and turned around, looking over the couch into the darkness that was the rest of his apartment. "What the fuck?! Who's fuckin' there?!"

He stood up and rebuttoned his pants, taking a few steps towards the door. "I said who's fuckin' there?!" He checked it. It was locked, but he didn't lock it when he came in. He quickly tore open the closet near the door, pulling a shotgun out and looking into the darkness again. "You fuckin' answer me right now you fuckin' faggot or I swear the Christ I will blow your fuckin' head off!" He aimed into where the kitchen was. Nothing.

His lips snarled a bit, walking forward. "You fuckin' fuck, you wanna fuckin' rob me? While I'm here? You stupid fuckin' faggot, I'll-"

His words were quickly cut off, a black iron cooking plan flying out of the black and slamming into his face, instantly breaking his nose and dropping him to the ground with a thunderous impact, shaking a few things on shelves and knocking his coat off the hook, onto his face.

"Arrghhh! Goddammit, GODDAMMIT, YOU'RE DEAD, FAGGOT!!" He pulled the coat off quickly and attempted to sit up, but his momentum only brought his face into another impact, shoving his broken nose into the barrel of his shotgun. His head slammed back down, his hands covering his nose and his eyes wide. "Nggh, w-what the fuck?!"

The assailant stood over him, one arm hanging calmly at his side as the other held the gun to the mans head. This all came far to quick for the downed man, it hadn't been but a second from when he was knocked down to when he sat up, how could he get there so fa-...

The pornography from the television dimly lit Sonic form, showing the man who he was dealing with. "W-wha...what are you doing...?"

"Why did you scare that poor waitress and knock out that cook?"

The man blinked. "W-wha..."

"Answer me."

He gulped, shivering a bit as he looked down the twin barrels of his own gun. "T-they...they refused to serve me anymore...they said they were...out of bacon..."

Sonic sighed lightly. "Baby steps..." He whispered.

"What...?"

The man never got his answer.


End file.
